Rebuilding the Abaco's....?

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I was on Grand Cayman a decade ago (2007, iirc) and it was still a ghost town in several places due to aftermath of the hurricane (Ivan, 2004?) and subsequent failed building speculation. Lots of bare lots and then a patchwork of almost completed or now-unoccupied buildings.
 
wkearney99 said:
I was on Grand Cayman a decade ago (2007, iirc) and it was still a ghost town in several places due to aftermath of the hurricane (Ivan, 2004?) and subsequent failed building speculation. Lots of bare lots and then a patchwork of almost completed or now-unoccupied buildings.
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Not a ghost town now. lol
 
Wifey B: People are lining up at the port hoping to be evacuated. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people. What percentage will return, if history is a good basis, I'd guess eventually 60% or so with 30-40% never coming back. :ermm:
 
Group9 said:
The cleanup costs alone, are going to be enormous, and quite daunting logistically. A large part, or all, of the Abacos, may not ever be rebuilt.
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Regardless of Bahamian regulations, there are certain to be serious soil contamination issues in many areas and now this:
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-09-06-dorian-major-oil-spill-bahamas

I'm not connecting the two, just wondering what the pros and cons might be, to just tossing a match into all the debris and cleaning up what's left.

Mother Nature always does a decent job of rebuilding after a fire.
 
Also the Chinese are going to add support, trying to get a foothold I’m sure
 
Bigsfish said:
Also the Chinese are going to add support, trying to get a foothold I’m sure
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Their relief/development efforts will probably be closely monitored by the US. They pledged $100k yesterday, which is pretty insignificant. Communications redevelopment may be cause for concern.
 
I am not in favor of purchasing the Bahamas , but the USA did purchase Florida , Louisiana , Alaska and other vast areas.


Purchasing Greenland does make sense in many ways.
 
Some folks were wondering about going back to Abaco, and it looks like there are a few places open already. I’m not familiar with any of these, but Menzies and some of the other more experienced Bahamas cruisers might be.

It would be an interesting trip if someone wanted to go support the Abacos, and maybe lend a hand if so inclined.


https://littlehousebytheferry.com/2019/11/21/abaco-resorts-open/
 
Friends of mine who live in GH (Berries) report all is good and back to normal
 
This Saturday, I will leave for my 8th trip over to the Abacos since the storm hit.

Every flight over I am loaded down with supplies, and every flight back to the states, all of my seats are full with people.

Each trip I see something new and there is progress. For GTC, there are several businesses opened and BPL is looking at having power to the island in the next three weeks.

Rentals are returning to those homes who were minimally impacted - basically, if you loved the area, a storm is not going to really stop you.

Green Turtle Club is back up and running but I'm not sure if they have power through the generators to the docks.

The water transit is reported to be clear of hazards.

Cardude01 - did you ever get over to see your boat?
 
k9medic said:
This Saturday, I will leave for my 8th trip over to the Abacos since the storm hit.



Every flight over I am loaded down with supplies, and every flight back to the states, all of my seats are full with people.



Each trip I see something new and there is progress. For GTC, there are several businesses opened and BPL is looking at having power to the island in the next three weeks.



Rentals are returning to those homes who were minimally impacted - basically, if you loved the area, a storm is not going to really stop you.



Green Turtle Club is back up and running but I'm not sure if they have power through the generators to the docks.



The water transit is reported to be clear of hazards.



Cardude01 - did you ever get over to see your boat?
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Yes I went over 10/17 and got it. Smooth trip. No real problems. Got a seat on an Island Wings charter flight with some other folks and lots of gear. It was an inexpensive and fun flight for me since I’m not an experienced small plane passenger. Some kind of twin engine Cessna and the pilot was a retired airline pilot who and an interesting fellow.

Yeah I was wondering if Green Turtle Club was open. I didn’t think they had big damage but then I realized no power on the island other than generator power so that could be an issue.

How’s the house?

Have you seen any cruising boats come back to Green Turtle yet for the winter season or is it still too early? When I left out of Black Sound the channel was clear and I didn’t encounter any debris on the way back to Florida. I didn’t see any other boats cruising however other than some big center consoles heading back to Florida.
 
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from the Nassau Guardian:
The government is now projecting that its 2019/2020 deficit is expected to be $677.5 million, or roughly 5.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

Turnquest, who tabled the 2019 Fiscal Strategy Report in the House of Assembly, said Hurricane Dorian, the Category 5 storm that devastated Abaco, Grand Bahama and the surrounding cays, set government plans of a balanced budget back by four years.

The government initially projected a deficit of $137 million, or one percent of the GDP for 2019/2020.

Turnquest said the government will now have to borrow $507.9 million to deal with the effects of Dorian.
 
That sucks, but at least interest rates are super low right now.

Wonder what percentage of tourism dollars comes from the Abacos compared to other islands?
 
We have boating friends who are going over on their Hatt 62 and volunteering next spring. They told me that each island has a recovery coordination committee that you can contact for information on volunteering.

They shared Hope4HopeTown FB page below.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/495049037962870/

We are going to somewhere in the Bahamas starting early April through end of June. May quickly run through Exuma as I think that will be very crowded next year as boats shift there. So probably back to Cat, Long, Conception, Rum etc. I would love to get as far as the T&Cs but I think I would need to add another month and I just cant swing that next year.

But on our way we plan on swinging through Abaco. Not sure we will be volunteering as I'm sure we don't have the skills that are needed there. But we will take some of what they need - probably a couple of generators and other stuff crammed on board. Will off load that then head south.

Green Turtle Club has been putting out updates on their recovery and they have the bar and restaurant up, and also working on room facilities.
 
All the areas of the Abacos are at different points in their recovery. Progress is being made in GTC and South Abacos resorts are open for business and actively advertising. Unfortunately, Marsh Harbour and Hope Town have to basically rebuild completely. From what I've seen, Hope Town has more semblance of structures remaining than Marsh Harbour, although no buildings usable as they are.
 
menzies said:
We have always thought of buying a second home over there since we first started going. Always held off as we didn't think we would get the use out of it and also because of storms.

We have even been looking in the past year.

I dunno. It's bitter sweet of course. If they were insured and get their money less storm deductible but no longer want to stay, then would buying their cleared land for future building be such a bad thing for individuals to do?
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Well, we contacted a real estate guy, spoke with him and are moving the conversation forward. Covid has obviously complicated things.

We have given him our wants and will be flying there as soon as flights are allowed and we can find a place to stay for a night or two. That's pretty difficult right now but not sure we want to go on our own bottom in July - we will see).

Not sure we need to be, or want to be, talked out of this, but I think we are pretty set on it!

Tally Ho!
 
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menzies said:
Well, we contacted a real estate guy, spoke with him and are moving the conversation forward. Covid has obviously complicated things.

We have given him our wants and will be flying there as soon as flights are allowed and we can find a place to stay for a night or two. That's pretty difficult right now but not sure we want to go on our own bottom in July - we will see).

Not sure we need to be, or want to be, talked out of this, but I think we are pretty set on it!

Tally Ho!
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Places like Abaco's tend to lie stagnant until folks like you buy in and bring money to the local economy, providing jobs for the locals which helps them to rebuild their own places.
You will go in knowing that your investment could be at risk and for that you also get a bit of a break.. but it's still a risk.

Its no difference than buying a repo, rebuilt, previously sunk boat at a reduced cost.

Good luck on the search!
HOLLYWOOD
 
Be sure to pick you builder well, I’ve had friends that tried that and tell horror stories.

Good luck.
 
I think a house over there is a great idea, as long as you invite me and Jewel to come visit. [emoji51]
 
Jewel would be invited but you travel with the pink crap that taste like real crap. :):)
 
Bigsfish said:
Be sure to pick you builder well, I’ve had friends that tried that and tell horror stories.

Good luck.
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Been going there pretty much every year since 2001 and watched homes being built, and being built a bit more, and then a bit more! I can imagine with the availability of builders and product right now it is going to take a while.

However we are looking for significant deep water frontage, so will have our floating home there when we need to.
 
cardude01 said:
I think a house over there is a great idea, as long as you invite me and Jewel to come visit. [emoji51]
Click to expand...

Let's see the cut of your jib when we meet next in JAX!
 
You may find an existing home for sale that needs work with deep water.
 
Bigsfish said:
You may find an existing home for sale that needs work with deep water.
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Talking to the realtor he told me something that surprised me at first but then made sense.

Existing homes are being snatched up quickly and are going for top dollar! Then he explained that so many people totally lost their homes, and got paid out by insurance, that they are snapping up places to live.

Yes there are buildings for sale but when you look at the photos the only thing you can save are some walls. Most still have all the furniture piled where it ended up! They look like you would have to clear the land and start again anyway.

So his advice was buy cleared vacant land and build when I can. If we first build the dock we can tie up the big boat and a runabout and take our time.

That's the plan anyway. We will see how the process goes. Once we can fly in to meet with him I will reach out through the forums I am on and see if there is someone already there who can give us a guest cabin for a night or two.
 
Sounds like you have it well thought out. I bought a house on the Miami River with a 100 ft dock to keep my boat and it’s one of the best things I did.

Between the storm last year and this virus our boating plans are demolished for this year.
 
menzies said:
Let's see the cut of your jib when we meet next in JAX!
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Damn, that just reminded me that I should have stored my jib for hurricane season before I left!
 
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